Plans for a massive new mosque and community centre in the West Midlands have been turned down for the second time.

Proposed Dudley mosque design

BBC Dudley Council refused permission on Monday for the buildings, which would feature a 35ft (10m) high minaret. Dr Kurshid Ahmed, chairman of the town’s Muslim association, said the decision was “Islamophobic.” (Who cares?)

The council said its decision was based solely on planning reasons as the scale and design of the building would be out of keeping with buildings in the area.

The council originally refused outline planning permission for the Hall Street mosque in February 2007 on the basis the land had already been designated exclusively for employment use under the council’s unitary development plan.

A planning inspectorate overturned the council’s reason for refusing outline planning approval in July 2008. The council fought the decision in the High Court in July 2009 and lost. Full plans for a mosque and community centre went before Dudley planning committee on Monday night but were rejected.

Dr Ahmed said: “Obviously I am disappointed but certainly not surprised because decisions in Dudley Planning committee are driven by the influence of bigotry, racism and Islamophobia.”

Dr Ahmed said he was aware that the proposed buildings had been described by some councillors as “an alien feature” and “a blot on the landscape”.

He added: “There’s not really any planning consideration as the two comments that you’ve just referred to suggest, so it is a decision based on people’s prejudices against Islam. “They don’t want to see a mosque or they see it as a blot, they see it as completely out of character, which means that they are still living in some historical context and don’t see the globalisation of today and Dudley as part of that.” (That’s right, get used to it)

Dr Ahmed said it was evidence that council policy was being determined on the basis of anti-Muslim prejudices and described it as “institutional Islamophobia”.

EDL WEBSITE SAIDRegarding the movement the EDL website easy, “Some of our supporters are at present barricaded on the roof of a derelict building near the site of the proposed £18m Mega Mosque in Dudley. They will be playing the call to prayer to let those who are not bothered by this Mosque know what to look forward to. …. We will never surrender, and we are also true to our word when we say this. The residents of Dudley do NOT want this Mosque, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them until this nonsense is over.”

“This is the first of many similar protests we have planned across the country. No one is listening to our concerns, so we have stepped up our campaign. They call us “Nazis” but what about the 22,000 people in Dudley who signed the petition against this Mosque? They must be Nazis too eh? well, we all know what our Government think of anyone who disagrees with their policies behind closed doors”, the campaigners continued.”

When one of the protester was interviewed, he said, “Gangs of Muslims are roaming the streets with knives. We have had a lot of feedback from supporters in Dudley, and all are saying the same things, the police are letting this happen. Muslims are being allowed to walk around unchallenged with weapons. Knives, bricks, you name it. What is going on in this Country? There are hundreds of police there, but none seem to be doing anything about them.